driftwood

[HiImSean]

i'd like to add more driftwood to my tank but prices from stores and vendors are high for just some wood. is there safe wood i could go out and collect? anything i should do before putting it in tank besides boiling it? dropping the pH a bit would be fine since mines around 6.4

 

[Nebraska_cichlids]

Jeff (Aquaticclarity) on this forum has great driftwood at very reasonable prices.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
Sean don't know where you are, but I'm in the UK and I've never bought any wood, or had any problems with the wood I've collected.

As a good basic rule you want standing dead wood or drift wood from non-coniferous tree. Ideal is if you can find a "stag-headed" Oak, and collect the fallen/any dead you can reach wood from it. Here is a nearly dead one at Westonbirt, but you see a lot of sickly Oaks where the fields are ploughed regularly.

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The wood you want is the "heart wood", and the most rot resistant heart wood is from roots, so if you can find a wind thrown tree, you may have a source. Beech wood is a good, and you often get wind-thrown one. Heart wood is also heavy so it sinks more easily. I've used Robinia lately a lot (often naturally hollow), all the variety Robinia pseudoacacia "Frisia" are dying at the moment. I've also used Apple and Alder, successfully and I have some very solid bits I collected from a felled wood on Bodmin moor which may be Douglas Fir (an exception amongst the conifers).

Drift wood is a good source, if you get it from the sea you need to soak it for a long time to make sure the salt is out. If it comes from fresh water you need to know it is not a heavily polluted source (Trout streams are a pretty safe bet).

cheers Darrel

 

[bigbird]

Hi Sean,

Same i never buy, but collect. I collect drift wood off the beach, i go to the fresh water rivers and collect tree roots from dead fallen trees etc. It is fun.
All I do is soak in water for 5-6 days and add the normal water conditioner.
have fun and make an adventure out of it.
cheers jk

 

[smootheye]

Article on Curing Driftwood

There is a good article on curing driftwood at Aquarticles.

http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/management/Haupenthal_Driftwood.html